[1]The Ingalls Building [2], located in downtown Cincinnati, was built in 1903 and was the world’s first reinforced concrete skyscraper. At 16-stories tall, the building was considered daring for its time and its success led the way for the explosion of concrete high-rise construction across the country. The Ingalls Building renovation begins, with HGC acting as construction manager, [3] to convert the historic building [4] into an upscale hotel.
HGC started work in May, with the early-stage process of levelcrete. The building has been in need of renovating for some time, so comprehensive structural work was needed, and the floors are a key part of that. Working from top to bottom, the team has nearly completed floors 15 through 4. The levelcrete process has required detailed logistics, due to the building being on a constrained urban site. 100′ along the east side of Vine Street needs to be closed to allow for material delivery and holding. With a team of seven, the process is a two-day cycle, and takes eight hours from set-up to tear-down.
One day prior to the pour, tasks include:
- Installing moisture barrier/ anti fracture membrane
- Delivery of levelcrete bags (200 per floor)
- Delivery of sand (15 tons per floor)
- Set up pump hoses and pump
On the day of the pour, tasks include:
- Connecting 2” hose to fire hydrant for pump mixing water
- Priming pump with water
- Confirming functionality and deliver of material to desired floor
- Mixing and pumping levelcrete
- Raking levelcrete with gauge rake to desired thickness and float to level.
Using levelcrete, the floor can be walked on within 4 hours and will cure to 90% strength in the first 7 days. Once floors 15-4 are completed, there will be selective demo, structural modification, and then framing. The lower floors will go through the levelcrete process after selective demo. Interior construction is expected to begin sometime in August.
The HGC team is excited to be kicking off the process of writing a new chapter for these iconic 16 stories.
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